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Monday Fulham Stuff - 01/03/21...

Started by WhiteJC, March 01, 2021, 08:02:07 AM

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WhiteJC

Parker makes bold Fulham claim causing relegation rivals to sweat

Fulham manager Scott Parker was delighted with his side's display against Crystal Palace and insists they fear nobody in the league.

The Cottagers edged a point closer to safety after dominating the Selhurst Park goalless draw. It was not a great spectacle but the Craven Cottage outfit looked the most likely to score.

They were on the front foot for the majority of the game, restricting Palace to counter-attacks. Roy Hodson's men failed to register a shot on goal, with the Fulham rearguard doing a solid job.

Neither side were at the races during the first 45 minutes. It was poor fair from both teams but the visitors were better after the break.

Josh Maja was lively and forced Palace keeper Vicente Guaita to make a spectacular save. But they could not get through to claim the points that would have taken them within touching distance of Newcastle.

Parker felt his side could have won it but is already looking towards the next fixture.

"There were some big chances today. In the first half we didn't really assert ourselves and lacked a threat," he said. "We changed that at half time. It was probably always going to be a 1-0 game and we did everything in our power to win it. Defensively we were very good. It's a point and in the Premier League it's a point gained. We move on."

Upbeat boss issues rallying cry

Fulham are now unbeaten in five top-flight games. They have won two and drawn three to give themselves hope of avoiding the drop.

The Magpies and Brighton are now just three points ahead while they will need to bridge a five-point gap to Burnley. It looks set to be a fascinating final 12 games of the campaign, with plenty of twists and turns.

Parker knows that his side need to win games to pressurise those above them but was happy to take something from the match.

"We certainly had our moments," he added. "Very pleased with the team overall. Of course we wanted three points, but we get one.

"I was very pleased defensively. We saw that last game against Brighton that Palace are always in games. We nullified that very well."

The next three games may well determine if the west Londoners do drop down a division.

They face Tottenham, Liverpool and table-topping Manchester City. They are not the clubs that Fulham would usually expect to take points from.

But Parker insists his men have every chance of pulling off a shock with the way they are playing.

"We will win games if we play like that. Today we fell a little bit short but performance-wise we were there," he continued. "I personally believe we can give anyone a game in this division. We keep moving, keep progressing and there's still a long way to go."



https://www.teamtalk.com/news/parker-bold-fulham-claim-relegation-rivals

WhiteJC

Scott Parker reveals exactly why Chelsea product Aina was substituted at half-time vs Crystal Palace

Fulham extended their unbeaten run to five matches in the Premier League after they were held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon.

Nigeria international Josh Maja had at least two chances to win the game for the Cottagers in the second half but his effort either went wide or was saved by the Eagles goalkeeper.

The impressive Bordeaux loanee squeezed a shot inches wide in the 66th minute and two minutes later Guaita made a huge save to prevent him from scoring from a close range header.

Chelsea academy product Ola Aina was one of four players of Nigerian descent that started for Fulham but made way for Antonee Robinson at half-time.

Manager Scott Parker revealed at the post-match conference that swapping the Super Eagle with the United States international was a tactical substitution and not injury-enforced.

In quotes carried by West London Sport, Parker explained : "I just thought we needed a little bit more down that right side and I thought it worked.

"It was nothing to do with Ola but Antoinee just gave us that little bit more going forward".

Of his 22 appearances in the Premier League this season, Aina has gone the distance in eighteen, scoring two goals.

Igho Kingsley



https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=39107

WhiteJC

Whites verdict: Eze might have made all the difference had Fulham signed him

How did Fulham not beat Crystal Palace?

The game ended like it started, with Whites on the front foot but yet again coming up short.

Josh Maja thought he had earned the breakthrough with a fine second-half header, but keeper Vicente Guaita kept it goalless.

The 0-0 result, Fulham's fifth of the season, comes under the acceptable banner. But a sixth, seventh and eighth won't be enough for Scott Parker's troops to avoid the drop.

The head coach has to carve out wins, and he knows it.

To underline the need, there was the intriguing prospect of Maja and Aleksandar Mitrovic on the pitch at the same time – at least for the last 20 minutes.

Two Fulham strikers on at the same time. Whatever next? Goals?

Actually, no, and just a couple of half-chances from the pair that kept Palace's defence on its toes.

Mitro doesn't look fit: that's fit as in Premier League sharp. And although Parker has promised a good battle between the two, the Serb needs to step up his game if he's to unseat the Bordeaux loanee, whose instinct in and around the box is excellent.

Eze might have been a Fulham hit
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was kept on a rein for most of the match against his old loan club, and when he did get a clear sight of goal, Luka Milivojević made sure a 20th yellow card in two seasons wasn't going to stop him upending RLC.

It didn't break for Ademola Lookman either, and Palace had clearly done their homework on nullifying potential threats.

In the world of what ifs. What if Fulham had made a real effort to get Ebere Eze in the summer, and what if the club had decided to shell out for Gary Cahill in January 2018?

Would Whites be better off?

Cahill is still a force for Palace, but the future is with Joachim Andersen and Tosin.

Parker's defence has been the side's strength so far.

Different players, but with different skill sets, and one of the reasons Fulham have a chance of escaping the drop as seen in this game.

But Eze for say, Bobby Decordova-Reid, both substituted it has to be said, might have been promising.

The latter is direct and gets beyond defences, but the former QPR man buys Palace time when he's on the ball.

His languid deceptive style was always going to suit the Premier League, and one can only speculate how many incisive balls Eze would have threaded through to Fulham forwards by now.

First-half struggles
Fulham should ask the FA if they can do away with the first half of games.

If ever a side relishes the second 45 – it's this one.

There hasn't been a first-half goal scored by the Whites or their opponents in the past five games, and not a lot else to go with inactivity in the final third.

Andersen's wayward headers from corners were the sum total of intended six-yard action in the first half.

His outstretched foot saw the ball spin into the arms of Alphonse Areola, and that was as close as Palace got to breaking the deadlock.

It's almost as if the sides agreed a secret warm-up pact, with no one allowed out of third gear until it gets to the business end of the game.

The Whites moved up through the gears after an hour. The urgency and the intent were there for all to see. They need more though.



https://www.westlondonsport.com/fulham/whites-verdict-eze-might-have-made-all-the-difference-had-fulham-signed-him


WhiteJC

Parker and Hodgson give their verdicts on Eagles v Fulham stalemate

Scott Parker believes his side can beat Spurs on Thursday and can upset the odds against Liverpool and Man City too in their upcoming fixtures.

Fulham had to settle for a point from the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday lunchtime, when they could have done with a win, given the difficulty they face of collecting any points from their next three games against elite clubs.

But it is now just one defeat in eight and the Whites boss remains defiant about his team's chances of beating the drop. They remain three points from safety, but he convinced that they will keep picking up points if they carry on playing as well as they are now, even against the top sides.

"On the scale of the opportunities we created, we fully deserved to win the game," Parker said of the derby draw with Palace.

"We fell short in that, but defensively we were very good. You're playing a team in Crystal Palace who are very organised and sit off play a lot. You've got to jab and probe your way in at times. 

"To start we didn't do that well enough and second half we changed it positionally and created enough chances to win the game.

"It wasn't meant to be, and we're disappointed of course because we wanted to come here and win the game. But it's a clean sheet and if you perform the way we did today, law of averages, you win it more than you lose or draw.

"I see points from the next game. I believe in this team, the team believe as well. I believe we can beat Spurs, I believe we can go into Thursday's game and cause them problems and go into it trying to win the game. 

"Every game in this division is tough so of course you understand fixtures coming along are tougher than others but we've shown we can compete against any team in this division so I hope that's not going to be any different in the fixtures coming up."

Eagles boss Roy Hodgson admitted his team did not fire on all cylinders in a disappointing game and will be desperate to have Wilfried Zaha back to face former club Manchester United on Wednesday. 

The Ivory Coast forward has missed the past three games with a muscle injury but recently returned to first-team training.

"We have a lot of players to come back into the team," said Hodgson, who was also without James McArthur, Mamadou Sakho, Jeffrey Schlupp, James Tomkins and Nathaniel Clyne.

"I know we have a lot more strings to our bow than we have perhaps been able to show in the last few games. We have our own stars that will be back in the team and can ask a lot of questions.

"I'm very satisfied, though. Fulham are playing very well and are a good team. We knew we would be under pressure for large parts of the game.

"We are realists. I still think we can do more with the ball sometimes but that's dependent on the opposition as well. They don't give you a lot of time on the ball but the way we dug in is very commendable. I can't praise the players enough for the work-rate."



https://www.capitalfootball.co.uk/single-post/parker-and-hodgson-give-their-verdicts-on-eagles-v-fulham-stalemate

WhiteJC

Tottenham clash holds no fear for Fulham star Joachim Andersen as Scott Parker targets valuable win


Confident: Joachim Andersen believes Fulham are capable of beating Tottenham on Thursday

Joachim Andersen says Fulham have no need to fear a difficult fixture run against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City after missing the chance to move within a point of Premier League safety on Sunday.

Scott Parker's side dominated Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park but failed to convert a single one of their 16 shots into a winner, meaning they remain three points behind Newcastle in 17th place.

Fulham have consistently created chances all season and struggled to convert them. January signing Josh Maja came closest in Sunday's goalless draw but was denied by a fine Vicente Guaita save.

The Cottagers face Tottenham, with whom they drew 1-1 last month, on Thursday and Andersen is confident that goals and points will come their way if they match the performance against Palace.

"It is not the end of the world, we need to continue and I am sure we will take a lot of points," Andersen told Fulham's official website. "We are really difficult to beat.

"There is no need to show fear, we know and we have showed all season that no matter who we are playing we can show a good performance. Last time we played them I feel we could have won so let's go win on Thursday.

"We should have won by two or three goals [against Palace]. It is really frustrating but again a really positive performance and something we need to build on. We have to believe the goals will come and they will."

Manager Parker also showed little concern at the chances being passed up and is equally confident that his side can trouble Jose Mourinho's resurgent Spurs.

"I see points coming from the next game," said Parker. "I believe in this team and the team believes as well. I believe we can beat Spurs. We can go into the Thursday game and cause them problems."



https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/tottenham-fulham-fc-joachim-andersen-scott-parker-b921596.html